The first lady shared the detail while attending the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Aug. 23
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NEED TO KNOW
- Melania Trump shared a surprising detail about her childhood during a rare live interview at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 23
- The first lady grew up in Sevnica, Slovenia, before moving to the U.S. in 1996
- The racing event was part of celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday and was attended by President Donald Trump, Melania and other members of the Trump family
Melania Trump revealed that she had an unexpected— and speedy — childhood hobby while growing up in Slovenia.
The first lady, 56, opened up during a live interview with Fox Sports commentator Jamie Little while attending the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix in downtown Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Aug. 23.
During the conversation, Melania said she “loved every minute” of the race, before sharing that she grew up with a passion for cars.
“When I was growing up, my father introduced me to races and to race cars, and he owned some incredible cars — [including] a Maserati, Cougar, Mustang, Mercedes. So he introduced me to the design of cars, and the mechanics, and also the speed,” she shared.
Credit: Doug MILLS / POOL / AFP via Getty
Melania grew up in the town of Sevnica, where she was known as Melanija Knavs. She lived in Communist-style apartment housing that overlooked a river and factory chimneys, before ultimately moving to the U.S. to pursue a career in modeling in 1996.
At Sunday’s event, the first lady went on to speak about her Fostering the Future initiative, a program launched via an executive order in November 2025 that is designed to help young people in and aging out of the foster care system, with a focus on education, employment and financial independence.
“Fostering the Future provides scholarships at the university level within [the] foster care community. And it’s very important, because we need to support them,” Melania said during the live interview.
“They need to have the same opportunities as other children, and I’m very proud to say that we had the first doctor graduating, and we now have 26 universities all around the country that have foster students [as a result of the initiative].”
“I encourage every governor in every state to sign in and support foster children,” she added.
The comments come on the heels of an announcement made by the first lady during a speech at the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, Aug. 20.
In the speech, she highlighted plans to expand the initiative’s national network, according to a White House press release.
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The expansion will be facilitated by a $2 million donation from IndyCar and Fox Corporation, which will fund scholarships at Indiana University and Purdue University.
Melania — who had not been seen in public for 32 days — began her speech by saying, “Good afternoon. I heard you missed me. Here I am,” which elicited laughter from the crowd.
The Freedom 250 race is the latest in a series of special events celebrating the United States’ 250th birthday.
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The event, which was free to the public, was attended by President Donald Trump, 80, and Melania, along with other members of the Trump family and cabinet members. It also included a flyover by Air Force One and multiple fighter jets, per CNN.
The 1.7-mile racing circuit wraps around the National Mall and is set against historic landmarks like the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol and the National Archives, according to Washington.org.
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